Attributions of Blame to Battered Women when they are perceived as Feminists or as “Difficult to Deal With”

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Abstract
This study aimed to analyze the influence of victim-related and observer-related factors in victim blaming of battered women. Two hundred and forty six college students participated. They were asked to read a scenario describing a hypothetical case of physical violence perpetrated by a man against his partner. Depending on the experimental condition, the victim was described either as a feminist and/or as exhibiting difficulties in her relationship with others or not. A hierarchical regression analysis was performed with victim blaming as dependent variable. Participants’ hostile sexism positively predicted victim blaming when the victim was described as a feminist and as a “difficult to deal with” woman (p < .001). In addition, men, but not women, high in hostile sexist attitudes placed more blame on the victim when she was presented as a feminist woman (p < .001). These results underscore the importance of victim-related and observer-related factors, and of their interaction, in blaming the victim of gender-based violence.

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